What is a Polygon? A closed plane figure made up of several line segments that are joined together.

The sides do not cross each other. Exactly two sides meet at every vertex. Types | Formulas | Parts | Special Polygons | Names Types of Polygons Regular - all angles are equal and all sides are the same length. Regular polygons are both equiangular and equilateral. Equiangular - all angles are equal. Equilateral - all sides are the same length.

Convex - a straight line drawn through a convex polygon crosses at most two sides. Every interior angle is less than 180.

Concave - you can draw at least one straight line through a concave polygon that Crosses more than two sides. At least one interior angle is more than 180.

Polygon Formulas (N = # of sides and S = length from center to a corner) Area of a regular polygon = (1/2) N sin(360/N) S
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Sum of the interior angles of a polygon = (N - 2) x 180 The number of diagonals in a polygon = 1/2 N(N-3) The number of triangles (when you draw all the diagonals from one vertex) in a polygon = (N - 2) Polygon Parts

Side - one of the line segments that make up the polygon. Vertex - point where two sides meet. Two or more of these points are called vertices. Diagonal - a line connecting two vertices that isn't a side. Interior Angle - Angle formed by two adjacent sides inside the polygon. Exterior Angle - Angle formed by two adjacent sides outside the polygon.

Special Polygons Special Quadrilaterals - square, rhombus, parallelogram, rectangle, and the trapezoid. Special Triangles - right, equilateral, isosceles, scalene, acute, obtuse.

(pi =

= 3.141592...)

Area Formulas
Note: "ab" means "a" multiplied by "b". "a " means "a squared", which is the same as "a" times "a". Be careful!! Units count. Use the same units for all measurements. Examples
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square = a

rectangle = ab

parallelogram = bh

trapezoid = h/2 (b1 + b2)

circle = pi r

ellipse = pi r1 r2

triangle =

one half times the base length times the height of the triangle

equilateral triangle =

triangle given SAS (two sides and the opposite angle) = (1/2) a b sin C triangle given a,b,c = [s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c)] when s = (a+b+c)/2 (Heron's formula)
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regular polygon = (1/2) n sin(360/n) S when n = # of sides and S = length from center to a corner Units Area is measured in "square" units. The area of a figure is the number of squares required to cover it completely, like tiles on a floor. Area of a square = side times side. Since each side of a square is the same, it can simply be the length of one side squared. If a square has one side of 4 inches, the area would be 4 inches times 4 inches, or 16 square inches. (Square 2 inches can also be written in .) Be sure to use the same units for all measurements. You cannot multiply feet times inches, it doesn't make a square measurement. The area of a rectangle is the length on the side times the width. If the width is 4 inches and the length is 6 feet, what is the area? NOT CORRECT .... 4 times 6 = 24 CORRECT.... 4 inches is the same as 1/3 feet. Area is 1/3 feet times 6 feet = 2 square feet. (or 2 sq. ft., or 2 ft ).
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Volume Formulas
Note: "ab" means "a" multiplied by "b". "a2" means "a squared", which is the same as "a" times "a". "b3" means "b cubed", which is the same as "b" times "b" times "b". Be careful!! Units count. Use the same units for all measurements. Examples

cube = a 3

rectangular prism = a b c

irregular prism = b h

cylinder = b h = pi r 2 h

pyramid = (1/3) b h

cone = (1/3) b h = 1/3 pi r 2 h

sphere = (4/3) pi r 3

ellipsoid = (4/3) pi r1 r2 r3

Units Volume is measured in "cubic" units. The volume of a figure is the number of cubes required to fill it completely, like blocks in a box. Volume of a cube = side times side times side. Since each side of a square is the same, it can simply be the length of one side cubed. If a square has one side of 4 inches, the volume would be 4 inches times 4 inches times 4 inches, or 64 cubic inches. (Cubic inches can also be written in3.) Be sure to use the same units for all measurements. You cannot multiply feet times inches times yards, it doesn't make a perfectly cubed measurement. The volume of a rectangular prism is the length on the side times the width times the height. If the width is 4 inches, the length is 1 foot and the height is 3 feet, what is the volume? NOT CORRECT .... 4 times 1 times 3 = 12 CORRECT.... 4 inches is the same as 1/3 feet. Volume is 1/3 feet times 1 foot times 3 feet = 1 cubic foot (or 1 cu. ft., or 1 ft3).